A few weeks ago, my car started hesitating on acceleration. I took it to Belmont Garage and was told that it simply needed a tune-up. Somehow, this tune-up wound up costing me $680! I will admit, I know nothing about cars. If a mechanic says ""this is what is wrong and this is how much it will cost to fix it,"" I've always just accepted it to be true. Anyway, a few days after getting the car back from being ""fixed,"" the hesitation returned. I took it back about two weeks later and was told that it needed an ignition coil and alternator. I was also told it would cost $1,000 plus tax. OMG! This time I wised up. I called two other garages in the area. The first said that parts and labor and tax would be $600. Yep, that's $400 less. The second place said, ""Bring us the parts and will charge you $210 for labor."" I purchased an alternator for $135 and ignition coil for $95 at Midway Auto Supply. Let's see $135 + $95 + $210 = $340. I saved $660 by NOT LETTING BELMONT TOUCH MY CAR! \r
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Did I mention that, after telling Belmont I didn't want them to ""fix"" my car, they tried to charge me a $168 diagnosis fee? After complaining to the owner that I paid to diagnose the issue a couple weeks ago and that if they had diagnosed it correctly then, I wouldn't have had to bring the car in again, he reduced the charge to $77. Had I not complained, I would have been out $168! Insane! \r
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Seriously, folks - shop around - but not here. Skip Belmont. Your wallet will thank you.
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